Thread: Singapore arrests British author of death penalty book

A veteran British journalist and author promoting his book on the death penalty in Singapore was arrested in the country today for alleged criminal defamation and other offences.
Alan Shadrake's arrest came two days after Singapore's Media Development Authority lodged a police report. The Foreign Office in London said it was seeking more information from local authorities.
The 75-year-old's latest book, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice In The Dock, contains accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore involving the use of the death penalty, and includes interviews with a former executioner, Darshan Singh. Published by a Malaysian company, the book was first released in Malaysia.
Death penalty opponents who helped to organise the Singapore launch were told by police that no bail had yet been set for Shadrake, whose passport has been impounded.
Last week one of Singapore's biggest book retailers, Kinokuniya, withdrew the book from its shelves after it was contacted by the Media Development Authority, which controls censorship in Singapore, according to the Asian Correspondent website.
In publicity material for the book, Margaret John, from Amnesty International Canada, described it as "a timely contribution to growing criticism of Singapore's shameful use of the death penalty".
Shadrake attracted the attention of authorities in Singapore in 2005 when he revealed the identity of Singh shortly before he executed an Australian drug trafficker, Nguyen Van Tuong. The case, a cause célèbre in Australia, led to friction between the Australian and Singaporean governments.
Singapore has a reputation for taking tough legal action against what it sees as unfair criticism. In March last year a judge found a Wall Street Journal senior editor, Melanie Kirkpatrick, in contempt of court for allegedly impugning the independence of Singapore's judiciary.
In October the Far Eastern Economic Review and its editor-in-chief, Hugo Restall, lost an appeal in a defamation lawsuit brought by Singapore's founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew, and his son, the current prime minister, Hsien Loong Lee, over a 2006 article that they said implicitly suggested they may have abused the public's trust.
"In the interests of security, public order, morality, national harmony, or friendly foreign relations, Singapore law authorises censorship of content and distribution of print material and films, severe limits on public processions and assemblies, and prolonged detention of suspects without trial," was Human Rights Watch's verdict on the city state

Source:
Singapore arrests British author of death penalty book | World news | guardian.co.uk

The Singaporean government must be the most anally retentive on planet earth; wonder if they even bother with toilets in their buildings.

I am sure that as with satanic verses and spy catcher; this action will be very successful at stopping people for reading the book;

Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock



ISBN: 9789675832000
Author: Alan Shadrake
Publisher: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD) Year: 2010
No of Pages: 219 Pages
Product ID: 606

Over the past few decades, investigative journalism has come to mean the kind of brave reporting that exposes injustice, wrongdoing and, above all, the abuse of power.

Alan Shadrake’s hard-hitting new book cuts through the façade of official silence to reveal disturbing truths about Singapore’s use of the death penalty.

From in-depth interviews with Darshan Singh, Singapore’s chief executioner for nearly fifty years, to meticulously researched accounts of numerous high profile cases,

Once a Jolly Hangman reveals the cruelty and imprudence of an entire judicial system.

At the same time he displays a touching empathy with the anguish of the victims and their families.

This important book should be required reading for human rights activists everywhere.

‘Alan Shadrake’s book, Once a Jolly Hangman, is a timely contribution to growing criticism of Singapore’s shameful use of the death penalty’---Margaret John, Amnesty International Canada

Alan Shadrake is a renowned veteran investigative journalist and author whose 50-year career has taken him around the world.

His first major book The Yellow Pimpernels told the escape stories across the Berlin Wall and was the subject of a BBC documentary.

Subsequent publications have delved into a variety of subjects including an expose of life in a Soviet gulag, the story of the boy poisoner Graham Young and, with Linda Lee, The Life and Tragic Death of Bruce Lee.

His appetite for unearthing the facts and presenting unpalatable truths remains undiminished. He divides his time between Britain and Malaysia.

For Other Countries: SGD25.00

Price: MYR 38.00

gerakbudaya.com

Mr Alan Shadrake's arrest comes just two days after a police report was lodged by the Media Development Authority.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ALAN SHADRAKE

http://changi-gallow.blogspot.com/

Unmasked: the hangman who will send
Aussie drug courier to ‘a better place’

newsawards.com.au

link to a .pdf scan of the Australian with an article by Alan Shadrake

I always thought the West pushed democracy to enable capitalisum to survive and prosper, it would seem Singapore through Lee Kuan Yew has found a way without a use for democracy.

Interesting though how they like to bash Thailand. They have been quite liberal in the reports published in Singapore as to the Reds (e.g. pro-Red). So it's clearly selective when it comes to foreign governments, etc.

Originally Posted by Bower

I always thought the West pushed democracy to enable capitalisum to survive and prosper, it would seem Singapore through Lee Kuan Yew has found a way without a use for democracy.

Which is why the chinese government has been interested in how singapore has achieved what they have not with similar systems.

I cannot help but to compare singapore with the former Yugoslavia under general Tito. My experience in singapore has been that many people in the chinese, malay and Indian communities know little of each other and do not like each other at all. As with Yugoslavia, authoritism does not provide real sustainable stability; it just puts a lid of the pressure cooker making it worse when it inevitably blows up.

I was there when they killed that australian; not felt like going there since. There was so much spin hypocrisy over the whole issue it would have made blair blush. The way that the authorities treated him and his mother; really left you with a feeling that they got sadistic pleasure out of the way they were treating him and his family.

The gov and the papers were constantly blurting all kinds of xenophobic rhetoric and how he was a major smuggler carrying 20k doses; but given addicts don't by 10mg doses it would better to describe it as enough heroin for about 100 addicts for 1 week. Not really a major dealer but more a desperate stupid young man; which is what they were so desperate to prevent people seeing.

Yes he did deserve punishment; but killing him served nobody. Its not like Singapore is worried about the harm that addiction does to society; if they were they would not be becoming the biggest pushers of gambling in SEA.

There behaviour towards this book the government is demonstrating that deep down they know what they are doing is morally wrong and they don't want anyone thinking about.

Originally Posted by hazz

Originally Posted by Bower

I always thought the West pushed democracy to enable capitalisum to survive and prosper, it would seem Singapore through Lee Kuan Yew has found a way without a use for democracy.

Which is why the chinese government has been interested in how singapore has achieved what they have not with similar systems.

I cannot help but to compare singapore with the former Yugoslavia under general Tito. My experience in singapore has been that many people in the chinese, malay and Indian communities know little of each other and do not like each other at all. As with Yugoslavia, authoritism does not provide real sustainable stability; it just puts a lid of the pressure cooker making it worse when it inevitably blows up.

I was there when they killed that australian; not felt like going there since. There was so much spin hypocrisy over the whole issue it would have made blair blush. The way that the authorities treated him and his mother; really left you with a feeling that they got sadistic pleasure out of the way they were treating him and his family.

The gov and the papers were constantly blurting all kinds of xenophobic rhetoric and how he was a major smuggler carrying 20k doses; but given addicts don't by 10mg doses it would better to describe it as enough heroin for about 100 addicts for 1 week. Not really a major dealer but more a desperate stupid young man; which is what they were so desperate to prevent people seeing.

Yes he did deserve punishment; but killing him served nobody. Its not like Singapore is worried about the harm that addiction does to society; if they were they would not be becoming the biggest pushers of gambling in SEA.

There behaviour towards this book the government is demonstrating that deep down they know what they are doing is morally wrong and they don't want anyone thinking about.

I am sure you are right, good post.

British writer freed from Singapore jail
Haroon Siddique and agencies
Tuesday 20 July 2010

Alan Shadrake, 75, released on bail after book about country's death penalty led to defamation and contempt of court charges


Alan Shadrake, author of Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, with his lawyer, M Ravi, after being released

The veteran British journalist and author Alan Shadrake was released on bail in Singapore today after his arrest on suspicion of criminal defamation in relation to his book on the city-state's death penalty.

Shadrake, 75, was detained on Sunday after a complaint from the government's media development authority. He posted S$10,000 (£4,766) bail, and police are holding his passport, according to his lawyer, M Ravi.

Shadrake told reporters outside the police complex after he was freed: "I'm feeling pretty shaken at the moment..

"I've been awake almost the entire time since they dragged me out of bed at 6am Sunday morning. I've had a few hours sleep on a very hard floor. I've been sitting at a desk being interrogated all day long explaining all the chapters of the book: going into the history of the book, my research, why I did the book."

Shadrake was in Singapore to promote Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, which contains accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore involving the use of the death penalty and includes interviews with a former executioner, Darshan Singh. In publicity material for the book, Margaret John, from Amnesty International Canada, described it as "a timely contribution to growing criticism of Singapore's shameful use of the death penalty".

The attorney general's office is also seeking contempt of court charges against Shadrake because, it alleges, statements in the book may impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary. A judge will hear the contempt of court charges at the country's high court on 30 July.

Criminal defamation carries a sentence of up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.

The media authority said yesterday it had not banned the sale of the book in Singapore. The book was initially published in Malaysia by a Malaysian publishing company.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for crimes such as murder, and a mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking.

guardian.co.uk

British author's case adjourned
Selina Lum
Jul 31, 2010


'Whatever they do to me, it will prove whatever I say in my book,' Shadrake (left) told reporters outside the court after the hearing. 'I'm not a wimp, I'm not a coward. I want to have my day in court... I'm not running away. If I run away, it means I'm guilty.'
ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

BRITISH freelance journalist Alan Shadrake made his first appearance in a Singapore court on Friday since making the headlines for his arrest over a book he wrote about the death penalty in Singapore.

But the proceedings, to cite Mr Shadrake for contempt of court, by attacking the independence of the Singapore judiciary, was adjourned for at least three weeks.

This was after Mr Shadrake's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi, sought more time, saying he wanted to file affidavits from the sources that his client had consulted for his book.

Senior Counsel David Chong, from the Attorney-General's Chambers, objected.

In the end, Justice Quentin Loh allowed Mr Shadrake to file an affidavit in two weeks, with the AGC given another week to reply.

The judge said if Mr Ravi wanted to file affidavits from other parties, he could make an urgent application.

Separately, Mr Shadrake is being investigated for criminal defamation and his passport has been impounded by the police.

Mr Shadrake, who is staying with some friends in Sembawang, said he was not running away. 'I'm not a wimp, I'm not a coward, I want to have my day in court.'

straitstimes.com

As in Thailand, tell the truth and you may well find yourself in prison.

Singapore's reputation on the line as British author fights on
James Gomez
Friday 30 July 2010

The trial of Alan Shadrake for criticising the death penalty has damaged Singapore's standing


Alan Shadrake gives the victory sign as he arrives at court in Singapore. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

Singapore's long-serving administration has won some time to ponder how it will deal with yet another self-inflicted blow to its global branding.

The reprieve came as a Singapore court today postponed a case against the British author Alan Shadrake for three weeks.

Shadrake, 75, faces contempt of court charges, after Singapore's Media Development Authority lodged a police report on 16 July against his book Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, which criticises the application of the death penalty. Published in neighbouring Malaysia, the book has sparked a criminal defamation investigation against the author in Singapore.

Shadrake rejected an offer of mitigation in exchange for an apology at today's contempt of court hearing and said he would fight on. This means more reputation damage is in store for the People's Action Party administration in the weeks ahead.

Local groups and international human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters without Borders have criticised the decision to prosecute the author.

News agencies, websites, blogs and social network sites are carrying news about the case around the globe and putting a sharp focus on censorship in Singapore.

The Shadrake affair comes as a Malaysian, Yong Vui Kong, faces execution next month for a drug-related offence committed when he was 19. The Malaysian foreign ministry, under pressure from the public, has written to the Singapore government to plead clemency for Yong, now 22.

Meanwhile, the British embassy in Singapore has chosen to play the Shadrake affair low key, opting to give the author quiet support without issuing public statements.

The timing of the two incidents has regalvanised a small group of activists and bloggers. Although most local NGOs and opposition parties have been characteristically silent, there is a high level of awareness of the two cases among the Singapore public.

The administration has spent large amounts of money on marketing Singapore internationally, most recently over the upcoming Youth Olympic Games. But at the same time it continues to damage Singapore's reputation with its censorship.

In keeping with tradition, one strategy used at today's court hearings was to threaten legal action against the media for publicising the alleged contemptuous remarks in Shadrake's book. That was a lost cause, given the information already circulating on the internet.

Singapore, like everyone else, has to increasingly contend with information disseminated by new media and is no longer able to ensure that only positive images of itself appear.

Meanwhile, the book in question is flying off the shelves at bookshops across the causeway in Malaysia.

guardian.co.uk

Petition against death penalty
Zakir Hussain
Aug 2, 2010


The signatures will be pooled with 12,000 already collected by the Save Vui Kong Campaign in Malaysia, and submitted to President S R Nathan this month.
ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN

ABOUT 140 people gathered at Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park on Sunday to sign a petition to spare convicted Malaysian drug trafficker Yong Vui Kong from the gallows.

The signatures will be pooled with 12,000 already collected by the Save Vui Kong Campaign in Malaysia, and submitted to President S R Nathan this month.

Yong, 22, was convicted by the High Court on Nov 14, 2008, of trafficking in 47.27g of heroin. The death penalty is mandatory for trafficking 15g or more of the drug.

The Court of Appeal turned down his appeal in May, and he has till Aug 26 to file a plea for presidential clemency.

Sunday's event at the Speakers' Corner was organised by the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, a loose group led by activists Seelan Palay, 26 and Rachel Zeng, 27; and by socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), which has called for an end to the mandatory death penalty.

TOC chief editor Andrew Loh said Yong had become repentant in prison; and argued that hanging him would not deter drug barons from finding others to do their work.

straitstimes.com

THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY. tELL THE TRUTH, AND YOU'LL END UP IN PRISON.!!!

Originally Posted by geoff

ANY COUNTRY

hardly

British Author's Uphill Battle in a Singapore Court
Paul Karl Lukacs
Monday, 02 August 2010


Death Penalty Author Shadrake faces multiple legal challenges for "Scandalizing Judiciary"

British death penalty opponent and author Alan Shadrake faces a heavy legal burden in seeking acquittal over charges of contempt of court in Singapore. Jousting during Shadrake's July 30 court hearing on various procedural matters revealed some of the flash points in the case .

The 75-year-old British author faces imprisonment or fines or both for allegedly criticizing the impartiality of the Singaporean judiciary in several pages of his recently released book about the island state's death penalty, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock. In addition to the pending contempt citation, Shadrake's attorney, human rights litigator M. Ravi, said his client is under investigation for the separate but as-yet-uncharged crime of criminal defamation.

The case has been postponed to September or October by Justice Quentin Loh Sze On to give Shadrake and his lawyers time to research and file an affidavit in his defense. The legal burdens on defendants in Singapore are set out below:

Limits on Defense Evidence

On the seemingly prosaic issue of the filing of a defense affidavit, requests for clarification by Ravi revealed that Justice Loh would only allow an affidavit from Shadrake himself and that the filing of affidavits from other witnesses require the court's permission. Ravi objected, arguing that "in civil and criminal cases, witnesses do not require leave of court." Ravi acknowledged that he was uncertain as to the identity of the defense witnesses but stated that he was contacting personnel at the US State Department, the Embassy of Germany and the International Bar Association (which issued a sharp critique of the Singaporean judiciary in 2008).

"As you do not know who will come forward and what they will say, my order stands," Justice Loh ruled. "There is a lovely English saying: We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Consequently, the issue of what evidence Shadrake is allowed to present in his defense may dominate trial and appellate proceedings.

Timing

The speed of Singaporean court actions can appear head-spinningly fast. Shadrake was arrested on July 17 and was initially expected to mount his defense 13 days later. Justice Loh ruled that Ravi's request for a month's extension to file defense affidavits was "too long" and that Ravi had two weeks to prepare Shadrake's affidavit.

Relevance of Alleged Police Interrogation

Shadrake alleges that he was harshly interrogated by Singaporean law enforcement officers, with questioning on July 20th lasting 11 hours. When Ravi raised the issue, Justice Loh held up the palm of his hand and cut off the argument. This appeared to be a ruling that the officers' alleged conduct was not relevant.

Scandalizing the Judiciary

The offense of "scandalizing the judiciary" occurs when a person engages in conduct, usually by making a written or oral statement, which attacks the judiciary in a manner which might undermine the authority of the courts or the confidence of the public in the judiciary. The charge is a species of contempt of court. As such, it exists at the hazy intersection of criminal law (since the punishment is jail or a fine), civil law (since the charge is not technically a criminal prosecution and, in this case, is being pursued by the Civil Division of the Attorney-General's Chambers) and procedural law (since a court has the right to control its proceedings).

In some nations, the charge barely exists. "In England such proceedings are rare and none has been successfully brought for more than 60 years," Lord Johan Steyn of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council stated in a 1999 ruling. In Singapore, however, the charge is alive and well. As recently as 2008, the High Court found the Wall Street Journal Asia to have scandalized the judiciary through a series of articles that questioned the judiciary's independence.

Determining Guilt

The viability of a defense is often determined by the legal test used to impose guilt, and Shadrake faces a challenge because Singapore's test for scandalization is easier for the government to prove than is the situation in other common law nations. In England, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Africa, a person can be found guilty of the offense only if his conduct creates a "real risk" of prejudicing the administration of justice. In the United States, the offending statements must create a "clear and present danger" to the judiciary.

In Singapore, by contrast, the offense has occurred if a person's conduct has an "inherent tendency" to create prejudice. In the Wall Street Journal Asia case, Justice Tay Yong Kwang ruled that the inherent tendency test is satisfied by a statement which "conveys to an average reasonable reader allegations of bias, lack of impartiality, impropriety or any wrongdoing concerning a judge in the exercise of his judicial function."

If it's any comfort to Shadrake, the facts have to be proven by the criminal standard of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

Truth Is Not A Defense

Because a contempt of court charge based on a scandalous statement arguably serves a different purpose than its close relative the defamation claim, the Singaporean courts have held that various libel and slander defenses do not apply in the context of scandalization. Of these, the defense of "justification," akin to a defense of truth, has expressly been ruled out.

Opinion Is A Little Better

For the same reason, the traditional defamation defense of "fair comment," or opinion, is likewise not recognized. But Singapore has held that the defense of "fair criticism" can be raised. To prevail, Shadrake would have to prove that his comments were fair and temperate, made in good faith, based on accurate facts and not directed toward the personal character of a judge or the impartiality of the court.

So the "fair criticism" defense provides Shadrake with a way out. But, given the principles of Singaporean law, he faces a difficult autumn regardless of what exactly he said in the controversial passages of his book. Singaporeans won't be able to read those passages in their local paper and make up their own minds as to whether Shadrake's criticisms were fair. In his opening remarks, government attorney David Chong Gek Sian warned reporters that repetition of contempt is itself a contempt and any reporters printing any of Shadrake's book could find themselves in court as well.

Paul Karl Lukacs, a practicing business and media attorney, is a contributor to Asia Sentinel

asiasentinel.com

When the executioner places the noose around the neck, he must ensure that the knot is in the correct position behind the right ear so the spinal cord is broken instantly at the drop.

A white cap is then placed over the head.

The trapdoor that is mechanically connected to one lever will open at precisely 6.00 am, give or take a second or two.

The body will plunge down a distance gauged by his or her weight, height and muscularity, and the length of the rope.

Megawati Wijayahas a review of the Book at the centre of all this here :

Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

the Media Development Authority, which controls censorship in Singapore

Fantastic doublespeak, fine effort...

Am at KL airport now. Just bought a copy of the book at MPH for MR38.

Lucky I didnt buy it at the other airport bookstore which is selling it for MR71.

Now lets see what happens at Singapore customs this evening

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

Now lets see what happens at Singapore customs this evening

SBF you there ??

Yes, I got the book through. I have only read a couple of chapters though. It is pretty boring.

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

It is pretty boring.

not something you'd get all upset about and ban then ?

The Singapore judiciary has long been the attack dog of the ruling PAP party.

Most opposition MPs have been accused of libel / slander, dragged to court and made bankrupt with punative "damages".